


Once More, With Clarity!

by TheAlmightyKojak



Category: Doki Doki Literature Club! (Visual Novel)
Genre: Deja Vu, Gen, don't count on it aaaa sorry, give natsuki love, it'll probably turn out fine or will it, maybe sayo can be saved, she deserves better
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-20
Updated: 2018-04-09
Packaged: 2019-02-17 08:56:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 7,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13073493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAlmightyKojak/pseuds/TheAlmightyKojak
Summary: A scenario where the player resets after the credits, but Natsuki doesn't forget what happened.





	1. Prologue

Natsuki was a normal girl, who one day joined a literature club. She wasn’t there for poetry or intense discussion, she just wanted to have a place where she could read her manga without fear of mockery. Although she was afraid, the club members treated her kindly. Monika, Yuri, and Say͘͢o҉̵͘ŗ̵i̶. T̸͠͠he̸̵͜y̵̶̡ ͏̶w̕͠e̷r͏e͢͞ ͟͏a̢͘͝l̴͡l͢͠ g̛͟͝͝ơ͡o̷̕͢͝d͠ f̡r̵͢i̴̴͘͞͞ȩ̵̷̢n̷҉҉d̶̛͟͝s̡҉̴

Natsuki was a normal girl, who joined a literature club to have time away from her abusive father. She was so afraid that he would get upset if he saw her reading the manga she enjoyed. All she wanted was a place to hide. A place to be safe. But as the days passed, something was wrong. Something was not right. There was something unusual about this club, and each day it got more and more unusual. And there was some̡t͠h̸i̶͢͟n̸̡͢g̴̕ w̲͟r̕҉̩̗̬͙o̦ņ͇̯͖͍̯͠g̴̘̭̠̠͓̺̻̱̼̕ ̷͕̺̪͎̹w͖ͅį͏̣t͎̲̱h̢̫̙̦͕͉͠ͅ Y̷̺̍̀uͧͫͤͮ̎̂r̶̝̗̦̎̋͋̈́i͓͖͉̗̱͎̍̎ͬ

Natsuki was a normal girl, who was running for her life. She didn’t know why she was running, but her stomach was filled with dread (though it seemed that most of the contents previously in her stomach were now dripping from her chin and shirt). She was afraid. She was scared so scared something is horribly wrong the walls are falling there is no sky there is no ground the world was unraveling into strings of numbers and dashes and slashes and brackets and the pain started the pain it hurt so much like being thrown into a blender as it all was fall̴in͢͠g̵̢ ̛͞a̴p̛a̡̕͟ŗt, ̨̢a̴҉n̢͏d s̶̨͜he͘͏ o͏̖̖̥n̥̙̘̰̩̥̱͝l̨͓͔͎̭͕͞y̶̬̥ ̶͉̻̹̗̙͞h̸̛̹͉̳̗̯̼ͅe̟̠̯a̧͖͔̬̩͙r̴͈̣̭͓̮d̸̡͎̠͎̖̭ ̷̻̬̳ọ̵̻͈̱͔͈̠̠͝n̡̛̩̤̼̗̮͡e̶̩̜̱͓̘̩̞͍ ̸͏͕̥̭̮͕̦̗ṋ̢͙̤̲̠͍͕͝a̺̭̳̜͔̘͓͓̯m͏̬̳e̴̷̻̙̺̥:̹͍̦̣͙̥̙͡ M͑͂̈͆̍̾̍͠͏̲̩͍͚͇̺o̶̵͓͍͕̮̽̏ͬ́̓ͩͮ͘ͅn͎̻̤̭ͫ̕i̧̳͎͚̰̰͖̰͌̀ͅkͥ̀̐ͯͫ̊҉̪̰á̪̘̺̼̘̩̜̟ͩ̽͌͘.̴̨ͤ͊̅̐͏̲̠

Natsuki was a normal girl, who one day joined a literature club. She wasn’t there for poetry or intense discussion, she just wanted to have a nice place where she could talk about manga with her good friends, Yur̸̭̗̜̟͕͙̣̕ͅi̡̢̩͍̥͍̘̠ ̙̰͚͇̥͕̜a̰͔͢n͏͏̠͙̲͔̜̟̣̬d̶͓̣̺̮̣̳͝ ̕҉͓͚S̷̢̛̤̤̤͈̺͓͓̜a͕͉ͅy̢̱̟͎͢o͎̮͉͚͈̱̺ṛ̺͔į̷͙̳̤̦. Aͫͧ̋̒҉̛͕̱͍̜͕͞n̴͗̿ͮ̄ͩ̂̐͏̹̰̘̣̳̺̺ḋ̜̟̯̫̪̾̍ͪ ̡̖̼̳̱̣͓ͨͭͪͭ͊̈́͡ͅţ̠̹ͬ͒ͣh̡̘̮̯̞͓̲͚͒̔͌̅̈́e̓ͤ̾̽ͮͮ͆̕҉̝͕͖̯͇͙͇̼̜ṉ̱̬͍̰̾ͮ͐̇ͮ͂̐̍́͘,̡͈͉̲̩̙̺͗̀̎̎̆ͮͅ ̢̢̨̩̘͖̭͕̰̠͎ͬͣỉ̧̤̲̖̄̒ͪ͂ͭ͛̉t͔̟̟͔͌́͆̿̈́̚ ͛ͨͬ̅͢҉̙̼̣͍̝a̝̼͕̹̲͊̒͆̓̽l̸̝͙̰̄̕l͍͍̭̩̩̲̮̒͐͢ ̞̯͉̜̫ͯͦ͐̉̚f͓̘̼̬̒̊̈́ͧ̈ê͗͌̂͢͏̱̻͎̜ͅl̸̸̖͕̭̙̹ͮ͊͒̾l̢̟͇̜̤̥̜̻͊̆̐ͅ ̸̰̳̎ͩ̄̂͠a̡̪ͨ̐w̠̹̳̟̬͚͋ͫ͘͠ä͈̯̦͔͙̬͕͍͍́̇̚y̦̯̮̩̭̪̤͌͒͑ͮ̃̎̂̕.͓̳͕͆͑͋͜ ̫̰̩̤̠̮̰͈ͧ͗̊ͮ̾̈͘͜ͅD̰̞̲̔̈ͭ̂͑ͨ̊ͮ͘ͅő̹̱̯̞̯̦̮̩̎̐ͪͅw͉̉͊͋̅n̺̣͔͚̤̩̹̎̅ͨ̽͘ ͇͎̜̗̄̉̃ͦ̽ͅĩ̶̖͎̗̐͛̆ͅn͎̯̯͙͉̪͌ͩ̃̐́ţ̶͈̝̲̺͍̠̱ͤ̈͑̏̑̔̋̈o̤̦̺̘̗̬ͣͥ̋͊ͩ̈͊̇͠ ̰͚̖̜̙͈̯͛ͤͮ̒̑͝͡t̵̳͈ͬ̓͊̔͑̓ͨ̊͜h̥̰͈̜̣̘̑ͮ̕è͕͟ ̷̸̐҉̩͔̦͇̳̱̠̼a͇̼ͣ̍ͫͯ͊͡b̻̮̦̳̘̼̤͊͊ͥ͑̅͌͋̚ȳ̶̷̞̼̼̲͇͉̭͖ͯ̊̌ͣ͗s̢̮͙̲ͫͪ̿ͦs̶̛̘͍̼̦̬̝̞̮̼ͩ̈ͯ́ͫ̎ ̢͗ͨ҉͏̭̫̮̳̰f̖̰̦͍̂̒̉͜e̡̢̥̟̼̮̘ͬ͂̈ͭ̀l̷̶͚̬̯̪̂̃̈́ͩͅl̢̓̏̈́͏͔͖̞̠ ̴̛̯̦͛̌̀ͣ̌t̵̬̼̟͊̑̒̇h̝ͦ̆͢e̹̰͕̖̮̳̺̘̐̇̅ͯ̆̚ ͌̈ͭ̉͊҉̻̪̤̜̹w͍̗̅̿͊ͦͬ͂͡͡h̢̠ͧͥͯ̍ͬ͌ơ̧͓̯̤̯̍ͦ͑̚l̵͓ͦ̓ę͓̜̜̝̍ͮ͊ͤͪ ̵͕̼̼͉͓̗͉ͯͬ̐̀͗̿ͅw͖̯͙̄͐͠oͯ̀́͏͉̺̼̲͉̭r̶̶̝̫̜̣͓̖̳̆ͨͪ͐̄ḻ̢̣̯̤̣̞͇̐̆ͩ̽̿̏͒̆͟d̢͕̜ͩ̈́ͬ͜͜,̟̤͉̝ͤ͗̌̿̉ͫͯ̋ͣ͘͟ ͨ̅ͮ͐ͥ̉̆̓͏̴͍̫̹a̧̨̲͚̥͇͛ͦ̃̋͋ͭ͂ͅͅn͋ͧ̐͋͏̹ͅd̡̪͚͍̝̹̜̹̞ͤ̅ͩͫ͆͑͛̋ ̧͔̲̰̜̳͈ͤ̎͑̆s̸̗͈̼̲͚͍̍̉ͅͅh̷̷̰̬̬̩̳̲́ͫ̀́ͅe͐ͣ̓͌̈̏̇͏̷͎̠̬ ̴̬̺̦̰̩̬̄̾̋̑̆̓͝ḑ̏́̓̉̄̂ͦ̈́͏͉̜͍̯͇̝̘̲̺i͍̞̺̓̉̈̑́ͤ́̚d̼͎̲̮͓̗͚̪̿̐̈̊̐͗n̷͍̺͈̱̾̿͌͒̓̈̕'̟̣͖̰͉͙̺̰ͯ̃̀͢ţ͚̩͔̬͕̜̃̇ ͖̗̲̍̂̓́̒ͬ̈́̃̕ḙ̴͚͙̗̳͉͔ͨṿ̦̬̥͙̩̇ͫͨ̑̄̍̈́͝e̵̤̙͉̠̺̭͒̀̃̉ͭ̽ͨ̽͑͘n͈̯͕̖ͮͤ͗ͨ͒́͐ͬͅ ̡͚̤͍͂ͥ̎k̜ͪ͋̿̅̋ͬ̾̋ͅn̡͖̳ͭ͒ͨ͐ͨ͋̔ͣ͠͡o̸̳̫̲̻̖ͮ͂ͪͬ̽̓ͤͦ̂ẉ̢̲͙̬̪̬̪̣̌̇͛ͭ̎̊̉̓͑ ̹̱ͭw̛̙̲̟͎̣͖̹̳͇̌͛͐h̩̮̎̿ͥ̀ͥŷ͎͉̦̜̻͕̍̈́͂̇͆͞.̃͒̽̉͏̡̜̦̞

Natsuki was a normal girl, who had just woken up from a terrible nightmare. Her friends had all fallen apart, one by one, until they were all dead, the world they knew shattered into pieces. It was too surreal to be true. Wiping the sleep from her eyes, she got up from her bed. A quiet shake of her phone alerted her to a message from Sayori.

“im going to invite one of my friends to the literature club!”

An innocent message, but she had a feeling of dread. Everything would be fine, right? But as she got dressed, she couldn’t shake the thought that something was seriously wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaa i hope people like this! i should get chapter one up soonish! please tell me your thoughts about the idea!


	2. Chapter One: Just Like Every Day

Still somewhat dazed, Natuski hummed a little tune to calm herself as she got ready for school. She went through her routine as normal: Use the bathroom, make breakfast (usually her own homemade cookies, but today she went an extra step and had an apple.), brush teeth, attempt to fix hair, give up after 20 minutes because n̶̡̧o̷͡͞b̷̢͝o̷͝͏͢҉d͏y̸͠ ̴̷̡̕w̨͞͠o͟͡͏̡̕u̢̢̡͟ļ̸̶͠d̷̢̛͟͡ ̸̕n̕͟͏o̢̧͟͜t̢̛į̨̛̕͟c̢̛e̵̷̡̕͜ ̸̕͢h̵͟҉͡e͞r̴̡̧͠ ̵̢҉a҉̛n͏҉̧y̧͠w̛͝͏͢a͘͠͠y̡̕͜s͏̷͡ who really cares about some stupid hair, it looks fine. After packing her backpack, she realized that there wasn’t enough room for the cupcakes she was baking for the new member. It was short notice, sure, but she always got up early s͞ǫ̴̡̧ ͘s̷̷͠ḩ̨̡͘e̴̛̛ ̶̢͟͝d̵̶i̴̴̶̢d̴͢͜͝n̴̷'̸̡̧͜ţ̸͘ ̵̢̛͠h̴̸͡a̷̸͢v̸̵͞͠e̴͡ ̷̨͢͡ţ̴̕͟͝o̡͝͏ ̛͘ş̧e͡͏̶e̕̕͢͏ ̵͟͜h̵̛̛͜e̢͞҉r̷ ̸̨̛ḑ̸͞a̧͢͝d͘͡ so she could make sure that she got to school on time. Shrugging, Natsuki pulled a few textbooks out of her backpack; it’s not like she would need them anyways. Even if she did, there was a pretty good chance that she wouldn’t have paid attention in class, so really the end result would be about the same.

After gently covering the cupcakes in foil and placing them inside her backpack, Natsuki made the lonely walk to school. She didn’t mind; she had always walked to school alone, and grew used to walking through the darkened neighborhood. This morning, she could make out the sun rising, mostly due to the fact that she left later than she usually did. Upon reaching the school, Natsuki made her way to the clubroom, setting down her tray of goodies on a table. She passed the time until school started by reading manga in the closet of the room. Although she had never said it, Natsuki was extremely grateful that she joined this club; it gave her a place to read manga where she didn’t have to worry about her father s̛̕͘h̛̕o̢͘͠͡u҉̴̵t͟͠i̡͜͠n̷̕͢g̸̢͞ ̷̕͏͠a̛t͏ ̴̷͢҉̕h̸̢͞ęr̨̛̛͘ reprimanding her for being so ‘childish’. 

Time passed, and she placed her manga back in the closet when it was time for her to go to class. Her classes went by like a blur, though that probably had to do moreso with the fact that she spent her time doodling instead of actually paying attention and learning. She’d probably stay up late and study it, she’d be fine. In a flash, the hours of school flew by, and before she knew it, the day was already over.

Of course, Natuski found herself at the clubroom before everyone else. Yuri was probably putting her books away, and most likely Monika as well. Since she had nothing better to do, she passed the time reading manga in the closet again. Yuri and Monika noticed her sitting there as they walked in, but decided to talk to each other instead of acknowledging it. After a while, though, Monika called out to her.

“Come on, Natsuki! We’re all going to welcome the new member!” She beckoned.

“Grrmghfmhmm…” Natsuki did want to meet the new member, but she was in the middle of a chapter, come on! Groaning, she stood on her toes to put the issue back on the closet shelf. “Fiine.”

Just as she had walked over to the group, the doors opened, and Sayori walked in.

“Everyone! The new member is here~!” She yelled, practically dragging the poor guy into the room.

“I told you, don’t call me a ‘new member--’” The guy muttered, pulling his shirt out of Sayori’s grasp. He seemed kind of pathetic to Natsuki, like one of those guys who finds himself in crazy situations despite having a completely bland and unimpressionable personality. He was kind of cute in that way, though. He looked like-

Natsuki’s eyes widened.

He was the member that joined in the dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to say sorry for this being a day late, and being so short! I'm hoping to start writing longer chapters from here on out, unless everyone would prefer quicker updates to longer chapters? The story will be the same length either way, I guess. If anyone has a preference, please comment and tell me!


	3. Chapter Two: Imagined Futures

“Welcome to the Literature Club. It’s a pleasure meeting you.” Yuri said. “Sayori always says nice things about you.”

Natsuki’s mind raced with thoughts. ‘Is he the same guy as the one in the dream? Was the dream real? This is really weird! It couldn’t possibly have been real, right? If only I could remember it! What had happened that ruined everything?’

Monika coughed, and Natsuki, startled, was snapped out of her daze.

“Are you going to welcome the new member, Natsuki?” She asked. For some reason, it looked like Monika had a confused frown on her face.

“Huh- Wha-” Natsuki fumbled with her words, trying to clear her mind of her racing thoughts. “It’s just that Sayori brought a boy. Way to kill the attitude.”

The guy Sayori brought stared at her. It was one of those mindless stares someone makes when they’re having an inner monologue; Natsuki knew the look well from Monika.

“What are you looking at?” She snapped. “If you want to say something, say it.”

“Natsuki…” Yuri muttered.  
‘There I go again, being obnoxious…’ Natsuki thought to herself. ‘Maybe I should apologise..? No, then I’d just look pathetic.’

“Hmph.” She grunted, resolving to find a way to make it up to him at some point.

As the guy began talking to Sayori and Monika, Natsuki’s mind returned to her disturbing dream, trying to remember more of what had happened in it. It was all too vague for her to remember anything. Something with a headache? The weekend before the festival? It was all just symbols and feelings, nothing concrete. She knew that this guy was the one who joined in the dream, though. Perhaps seeing him triggered the memory? But that meant she might not remember what she needed to until it was too late! As she contemplated that, she noticed that Monika was giving her that look again. She silently pointed towards the back of the classroom, where Sayori was greedily eying Natsuki’s tray of cupcakes.

“Hey! I made those, I’ll bring them over!” Natsuki scolded, running back and snatching the tray as Sayori tried to slightly pull up the foil to look inside. “I want everybody to see the grand reveal!”

Sayori awkwardly put her fingers together. “Sorry, I got a little too excited~”

Yuri offered to make tea, and after moving some desks around, the club members had made a makeshift table for everyone to sit at. Everything seemed normal, but Natsuki was still uneasy. As the new member hesitantly took a bite of the cupcake, she felt as if she had done this all before.

“This is really good.” He said. “Thank you, Natsuki.”

All she could manage was a “Hmph.”, still thinking intently about how best to go about this.

“Gee, sorry for giving a compliment.” He muttered. It was only then that Natsuki realized he was talking to her. She jumped a little, but quickly regained her composure.

“Well, it wasn’t surprising that you liked it!” She snapped. “After all, nobody can resist my treats, it’s an impossibility! I’m a pro, you know.”

“You sure are, haha…” The new member weakly laughed. He seemed somewhat… Confused? Like he was trying to grasp what words he wanted to say, but just couldn’t find any. “T̴h̛e͘͢ ̧̧f͠͡ǫ̵r̶̵ce ̕o͜f̵̴̕ ̶Na͞ts̶u̷͘k͞i̧͘͘ ͞p҉u̕͠l͞l̕͟͟in̢̕g̨̛ ̸͘m̕e̕͢ ͘c͟a̵u҉s͘e̡̕s̵̸ ̵͝͝m͜e҉͘ ͘̕to̶ ̢͘s̸̛t҉u̸͟m̶̢͡b̡̡l̷͟͜e̢,̨̨͟ ̴m̷a̵̷͝ki̶ng̴͜ ̷̨h̸͡ȩ̸r҉ ̵s̛t͡um̶͘͝b̡l͏e i͜҉͠n̶͠ ͜͏̨t͠ur͜͏ņ.̧̨̡No̧t̵ ̡u̧͞n̡͢t̶̸i͝l͠ y̶̸̨o̴͟u͟ ̧͏͟a͟p̨ol̢͘o͝g͠i͜zę ̴̴̢f̧̛or҉͘͞ c̷a̸l҉l͝in͢͏g ͟me̶ ̶̢g̢͘ro̷ss̕!̸̧͞O̡͢ư̧͢t̢ ͞͞o̡f̴̨̛ ҉̨ņo̸w̶̸̕h͞e͢͡r͢e̢,̶̨ ͢t̢̛h̨e҉҉ ̸f͘i̡r̴͟e̵ a͢l̵͟a̵̧r̷m ͟s̢͞t͟͞a͡͏r͘t̴͜s͡ ͟͟g̴̛̕o͏̧i͏̶n͜g͞ ̢̧o̴͢f͢͢f.̧W̛̕i̕t̷͜ho҉͢ut̶ g̵i̧͝v͏i̶n̨̛g̵ ͏̴m̸͠҉e͜ ̨͏͘a̡͏ ̴̛c̛҉̷hanc̸͝e͝ ̨͡t͜o̸̶ ̧̛ţh̶i͟͢n͟ķ̶̢ ̛ab͜o̶̡u̵t̢ ͠͝b̵͞e͘͏f҉̨̡o̶̶͢r̢͞͏e,͠͏͢ ͏̛͟N̶̢a͏̶̛t̸̡s҉u̷̷͟k̸̴i̛ ҉̷̧qu̴i̡c̵k̢ly͜҉ ̕͝m̧͠o҉͜v̸͞e͏s ̶o͜͜n̸̵̡.̵̸A̢h̶̶̵a̢͠h͏a̶͝͞.҉͘A̛͘h͏̷ah̷̵͢a.͝A҉h͜a̸͘͝h҉̵a͢͠.̶A̸̡̗̦̋̚̕h́͋ͤͤͭ̓̓̾͒҉͙̻̣̭̯̬̼̭̕a̳̫̳̺̲̰͑ͣ̐̌̇͑̊ͅh̤̩̬̙͍͇̒̽̄ͅȁ̳̟̰͚.̷͉̱͖͖̩̞͑ͣͦͯ̽́͊”

Natsuki paused for a moment. It seemed like she had just heard him talking, but she couldn’t see his mouth moving, and she couldn’t remember the words. Strangely, it sounded like he was describing some sort of scenario involving him and Natsuki, but how could that be possible? They had only just met. Natsuki’s gaze drifted over to Monika, who had a concerned expression on her face.

‘Huh.’ Natsuki thought. ‘I just noticed that Monika is always looking past this guy when she’s talking to him. Like there’s a person behind him that she’s talking to. But Monika always looks someone head-on when she’s talking with them; she learned that from her time in debate club. Something’s just… Off. Maybe I should talk to her later.’

"I'm confident that we can all really grow this club before we graduate!" Monika blurted out, clearing the silence. “Right, everyone?”

“Yeah!” Sayori exclaims.

“We’ll do our best.” Yuri resolves.

“Huh?” Natsuki asks. Did she space out? She could’ve sworn that this was completely unprovoked. “Uh, yeah. Let’s do this.”

“You alright there, Natsuki?” Monika asks. “You seem a little out of it today. Maybe you should get some sleep instead of staying up late reading manga.”

“M-M-M…!!” Natsuki stutters, stuck between ‘Monika’ and ‘Manga’. “Manga is lit͟e̢r̷̨͡at̵u̴r̴e͞!̵͢!̷̷͜"̶͞͏

T̼͔̩͋ͣ̏̂͑h̞̠̱̹̙͙͍̍ě̸̟͇̱̣̂̋͛ ͈ͣͨ͒s̩̞̟̞̋́ͤͩ̃̔̀c̩̜̩ͬ̍͠r͈̤̰ͮ͢e̫̲̟̳͇̪͗̓́̑̇ͪ́͜ẽ̯n̛̹̝̰̳̏ ̸̺͎̮̫̝͋̊̀̋̇͒ͮd̈́̈́̒̊͌̚a͑ͫ҉r̞̠̊͛͒k̶̳̦̪̦̪͍͊̇̊̐eͥ̇̃̓ͫn̞̞̫̫͓̰̜̍s̷̙͉̜̪̜̝̋ͮͭ͂̔ͅ.̨͕̺͖͋ͦ̄̌̐ͦ T̛̗̅ͩͫ̋ḥ͉͚̌e̷̬̪̹͎̫̖͉ͤͯ̐ͯ̀ ̲̫̉̈dͥ͂ͧa̩̤̤̹̕ͅy̗̼̼̞̝̍̐̎̇͡ ̺̬̣̤͉̠̅̌ͤ̓̾į̻͇s͙̥̓͠ ̴͎͖͖̝̽̇͒̾̌o̞̝͎͓̥̦v̢̈́̈́̆̈́̒ ̲̺̙ͯ̈́͒͊o̬̤̯̤̣͙̭͛̈́͋̾͊ṿ̗͓̖͑̇̍ͬ̕ ͓̾ͪo̦̻͍̪͐̅ͧ̍̔͗ͮv̟͎̍ͣ ̹̣͕͈̦̣͒́̆̉o̰̫͓͓̪ͨͥ̔̐ͥ̔͋v͇̯͕̋ͅ ͦͪ̀̌͆o̟̲̜̣̞̭ͦͪv̗̝̠͉͇͍ͅe̟̰̰r̨͗ͦͩṛ̠r̟͖̜̰͑̍̇͊̇̉r̼̟̼̮̦̿ͧ͐͑͆ ̘̳̦͚̝͋͑́̃̾t̤̮͎͔̮͕̃͞i̳̭͙̻̇̃ͤͥ̓̚m̪̘ͩͫ̓ͦͬ̐̿e̤̰͔͒͌ ̨̤͖̪̺̳̬ͅf̲͚̜̹̺̔ͨ͑̉͂̉oͬ̓̓̚r̞͚̼͚̰ͥͨͅ ͕͚̗̖̖̱̌̇ͤc̆͗̊̑̂͢h̘͔̱͓ͪͤ́̽ͫ̏͝ͅḁ̶̞͕͇̲̞ͮ̈́̉ͤ̏̆̏p̼̜̖͇̭ͩͨ̋̂ͪp̤̱̝̻̼͖͎̉̕p̲̹̳ͩ̎̇̐͛p̨̪̜̤̫͇̘̳͛̋ͬ̓̒͗p͙̦̜̞̳̙̜͑͒̐̓ ̸̉̆̑͆̾ͥc͉͉͑͒ḩ̫̲̻͓͓̐̉̊ȁ̧̝̬̤͈̳̜͔͐̿̉͌ͫp̊͑͋ͯ̚t͍͓͉̃͑ͮͬͬë̞̜́͆ȑ̢̳ ̮͔̳͉ͅo̻̖̻ͪṋ͈̰̱̉ͮ̀ͅe͎͍͙̩̝̤ͧ͐̓ͧ̽ͅ ̡̗̩͉ͨ̉͋t̵͕͇̥̯̠̒ͤ͂̆o̦̝̓ͧ ̗̦̗̼͓ͧͦ̃̓ͬs͖̩͇͈̾t̴͚̤͓͔̭̼̃͛ͅa͇ͥ̊r̎t͛̈͌s̟̙̳̱̩̄ͩͭ̃̅̚͡t̟͖̲ó̘̠͕͙̠̫̲ͣ̔p̸̦̙͚̉̔͆͐̃ͧ̎b̪̯͔͓̣͖̗̽̽̅͝a̳̦̭͟c̴̙͑ͫ͗̂̒k̖͈̤̙͚͖̐ͫ͋b̠͊ͣ͊̑̎́̊â̟̦̳c̤̹̋k̜̯̠̻̹ͦb̧̹͒ͮ̇͊̚a̮͍̗̿̑̋̾̚̚c̣̬͓̙͓͚̃̇ͦͤ̾͠ͅk̳̖̖̟͙̖̲̅͒̕ ̧̭̺̞̞̿ͥ̓ͮn̛̘͉̱̹͍̈̌ͬȯ͍̟ͫ̏ͩn̵̙̻̠ơ̘̤̥̇ͨ͊̚n͍̺̹͑ŏ̊͛͡n̦͖̞̎̄ͧ̂ͯ̌o͈̬̝̜̥ͥ͑͊͊̈́̒ͯ͘n̛̙̦̹̫̼͈ͯ̏ͬͅo̗̳̮͆ͣͬ̊n͕̭̖̙̠̄̏̓̌̿̓ͮơ̠̤͈̖̟̋ͤͬ̂ͥ͌ ͧ̿ͥ̐̒͆t̆̇̽̿̅ͭ͞h͢î̛͙͔̼̓ͥͥ͑̾̇s̞̫̑ ̣̩̠̯͉͚̩ͫ̓̿̏͆ͣ̀ị̻͈̀͋̈̉s̤̺̭̮̩͛ͯ̌͐ͬͨͅ ̧͋ͮ̓̋̄ͮ̚w̧̠̻̓r̬͚͑͆̌͆ͭ͒̊͜o̺̩͈̳͇̮͐̀̾n̙̱̻ͫ̈ͦ́̊ͥǧ̛̤ ͙̠̞͆͐̕w̟̅̆͂ͣ̔͝r̜̻̙̂ͧͣͪo͇̣̳̯̣̦̽̉́͑n͞g̀ͮ̄͒̇҉̙̼̭͔ ̻̣ͬ̃̓̑̈̌ͅa̬̦͕̐l̰̣͉̙ͧ͗ͤl̷̠͈̖̒ ͯw͚͕̜̝̒͐͂͊͘r̠o̴̤̦̘ͪ̆̈́̅̂̈ͪn̶͉̺ͭ̈́́ͤ̑̽g̵̮̿ ̀ͧ͏̳t͉̝͕͕͍̺̾h͉̟̦̬͕̩͡e̡͊ ̙̦̟͔̜ͦ̐ͮs̟͉ͩͦͣ̿ͮ͐͑e̥ͪ̓̈́ͪqͤ͑̔͆ͮ̚u̠̻͉̕ͅë̞̳̙̭͇̩́͛͐̇ͤͤ̐ͅn̼͍̱̱̉ͮ̑ͤ̏̈́͒͢c̨̲̑ͯͥͮeͣ̑͛̊ ̦̏̐͑ͩͬͅḫ͕̝̣͋̂ͣa̙͋s͙̳͚͕̥̖͛ͦͮ̽͒ͤ̆͘ ̵͙̟̟̊̔͐b̧͖̖̠̱͕̠̩̄̅̽̍̒͑̑e̘͎̝̖̓͌͌̓ͫͦͫ̕ḛ͍̯̆n̮͉̥͍̲̮̔͗̇̍͞ͅ ̖̤̗̚ͅr͕̠͖̪͉̊̏ͪ̓ͧ̈́é͇̝̩̭̦̗̰͗ͮ͆ͤ̐͊ã͚̣͇́r̋ͤ̈́͌͐ͮͨ҉̳̮̰r̝̹̫̓́͒ͪ̃̅ͅͅͅą̗̺̣̟̎n̳͜g̹̰̮͎̙̍ͬ̕ͅe͈͖̥͔͑̾ͫ́̓d̠͔̘̐͌̒̽̇̈́͝ ̣͖̹ͭ̓͐eͪ̈́ͯ̚͏͓ͅx̯͍̭̫̟̻̆̈́ͅc̻̪̙̱͕̳͎͋ͬ̎ͥͤe̪͍̞̗͔͔͍͐ͭ̀̆ͦ͗p̞̻͔͂t͎̬̲͐̂̐̓ͨ͜i̺͇̱ͨͬ̏̽̐͋o̗̅͡n̥͓͈ͬ̏̾ͥ̏ ̫̠̩̩̤͂ͮͣͮͅȇ̯̣r͍̫͙͙̩̮̎̄̈́̾r̛̮ͬ̿̍ͦ̃͊̂o͊r͙̊͛ͣ͢ ̲̺̞͖̗ͭe̳̱͈͌ͬ͑̑r̔̔͂͑́r̡̘̝̼͗͒̋̐̍̄̿ͅͅȯ̥ͯͦ͗̌͑ͯr͎͂ ͍̝̫͛͋̾͡ę͂̓̀̏ͯͬ̃r͚̝̟̗̬͎̅̚͝r̻ͧ͂̊̐ͩͬ͝o͂̅͒r͚͍͇͎̔ͭͦ̓ͬ̅ ̨͓̪͇̺̬̓ẻ̢̬͖r̲̪͕̣̮͊͐̌ͮ͠r̦̰̤̠̫̠̝̍̅ͧͪȍ͈͇̰̯̥̞̌ͪͧͯr͈͍̤̼͈̪̞̔̔̈̋̂ ̜̝͐ͯę̮̩̲̹͙̤̟ͦ̂ͦ͊r̖̬̟̍r̵̟̺͕̜͓͓̠͗̈̓o̷͍̳͆ͬ͂̐rͥ̄҉̩̩̗̪͇͕ ̷̍̾ͫe̶͂͋̏ͮ̆ͨr̠̮̕r̩̱̥̳͛͆͒ͬ̈o̗ͬͥ͌r̹̠͎̋̄͐̇̑ͭͧ ̰̦͖̼͙̆̓̇̋̌ͯ͘e̢͇̽̌̏r̮̬̭͓̻͒̃͐̈́̊ͅr̪̹̪̲̩̰̓̓ͤ͒o̜͔̹ͭ̍̆̎ͧ̀ͮr̘͔͙̟͚͓̓̃̾̇ ̶̐ḛ̜͉͕̤̬͂͌̇̾ȓ̯̥̣̘̂̍ͨͦͤ͛r̭͙ͨ̀̓́̚o̥̠͓͍͓͒ͤ̅̋̉͆̓r͐̇͋̀͒ ̙̳̹̪̠͕̩̅e̛̟̰̰͓̥̗r̶̫̯̅̑̿r͈͍͕̬̯̔̐ͯ̀oͬ̿ͥ̋r̙̰ͤͅ ̤̙͚̇ͩͫ͗ͩͭ͡ẻ̘̝̪͖̈́̈́r̩ͧ͛̉͋͌ͬ͢r͚͇̖̤̣̙̭ͬ̈͆͞ỏ̥̈́̾̏͂̅ͭ͡r͎̗̝̞̻͋͆ͦ̇ͩ͒͡ ̝̣̫̳̘̑̓̂̍êͦ̿̒̿̏r̩̙̙̪̞̖̰ͪ̓ͫ͝r͇̲̙͐̍ͯŏͥ̓̂̓͜r͖͕̙̳̪̜̟̒ ͎̲̣̥̏̍ͫ̌͗ͪ̚͝e̥̅͗̍̾̒͛̍r̢͇̱̻̅̈ͥ̈́ͦ͋̔r͝o̤̝͛́̓̋̂͌r̷ͮͫͦ̐͂̋̈́ ͇͑͢ȅ͍͖̫̙͓̩̩͝r̪̫̱ͨ̍̒r̲̯̺͍̓ͩ͗ͣ̏̍̓͝ọ̱͉̆͌͐̀ͤ̑͒r̃͛ͣ ͬe̠̓͌ͩͭ̌̎͛͡r̎͒̒̔̄ͭ͡r̢̹̹͇̘̮̼̓̿̌̓ͧo̭͓̰ͩ͐͋͒r͖̝̔͋̆̎̅̈ ̄ͭ́̈́͂ͧ̇̕e̷ͩ͆̏̍͛ͣ̉r̖̤̖̟͉ͬ̀͟ͅͅr̭̹̦̪̃̚̕ơ̻r͙̙̟̤̟̗̽ͅ ̘̱͚̹̝͖̊͂ͯ̌͝eͧ͋r̷̼̪̠͂̀̍̓̋͛ͅͅr̫͈̰̫̝ͭ̄ͩ͗̐ͅo̷͓̜̪̻͇̮̟ͥ̊͗r̈́̿͛ͮͬͭͧ ̤̮̫͐͗̂͜ͅe̩̞͙̣̮͠r̻̲̤̩̟̝̓ͅr̗̖͓̝̯̻̭͋̉ͨo̬̫̻͉̼̗͗ͫͨ̍̌͢r͙̠͕͔̅ͩ̆ ͏͙͍̲̞̤̟̬e͚̪̯̍̀̓r̯̯̯͕̰͌r̳̣̈́̊̉o͖̪ͪ̕r̅͑ͨ̄̎͋ͥ͝ ̵̺̱͌ͥͥ̋͑͊͑ȩ͓͍̻̤͙͍̤̃̑ͬrͬ̌҉͍͙̣̪̗r̫͛͆ͧ͐̓͜ȏͭ͒ͭͅr̛̦̍͋̿ ̠̮̼̫̲e̡̳̺̺̝̫̓ͩͮ̍̎̌̋r̪̊̈́̾͑͠ͅr̩̩̠̈ͪ̅ͬͦ͊̍o̡r̛͓̙̙̯ͣ͐ ̳̰̼͉͊̃ͥ̿ͩ̔ͅȩ̲̠ͩͣ͌̇ͬͅr̫͙̫̠͚̻̆ͧͬṙ͎͇̬̹̬ͯ͒͂o͇͖̎ͪr̝̳̟̤ͥ ̨̱̭̺̤̳̹̒eͩ̈́̒̃̓ͥ͠r̀̊̋ͮ҉̦̥̞̥͇̻̝ř̤̓ͦͮ̒o̖̱̠̠͔̱̓̇̃̿ͅr̯̻̥̻̍͑̆́̚͘ ̷̘͕̇̔͋ͤ͆e̛̎̿ͤ̉ͫr͖͙̭ͣ͐͢r͆͞o͈͕ͩ͐ṛ̨̖͈͍́ͪ̈́̉̒̋ ̟͇̗̫ͫe̘̝̖̗̞̭͆̌͒̌ͮ̈͐r̖ͤͦr̾ͮ̀͌̿҉̞̘̣͕͙ò͓̣̬̗͓̗͌̀͑̓̕r̝̰̝̤͍͑̎ͮ̃ͪͅ ̻̼̞͖̘̭̻̊͌ͤ̈e͉̞̭̒̂͑ͣ̓͊r̗͝ŗ̘̖̮̮̳̗͖ö́̊͠ŕ̸̤ͦ ̥͎͉ͥͤe͒̌͏̼͇͈r͍̗̳͚̥̯͎͋ŗ̖̣͖ŏ̢͌̒r̸͓̟͖ͅ ̧͌ͅe̫̍̑r̺̱̞̒̈ͯ̃̀ͅr̥̝̞͙̱̰̀ͩ́ͬ̂̊͐͡ỏ͚ͮͫ̇̓̃͐ṟ͑͛͒ ͫ͋ê͖̳̖̏ͮͫ͂̾ͥr͇̟̘̙̰̿̍̀͒r̶̿ͯ̽͛̈́ͯͥo̫̪̪̪͙̱͛ͅr͉̜̼͎̬͛̅́͐ͪ̾̚͠ ̄̀͏͇̩̘͇ͅe̘̳̺̤̭͙͍͞r̜ͪ͐̈́̋͛͂̋r̾o̘̱̳̓͋̿r̥̤̝̣̩͐͐͛͞ ̫̱̯̃͡e̞͇̜͆̃ͅr̶̹r͉̰̲̳̟͈͖̊ͫo̐̾̂͋̎҉͓̣̳̖̮̱r͇̅̍͐̈́̕ ̙̠͈͚̮̄̋e͈̝̋ͥ͊̚r̶͇͔̝ͥ̐͒͑ͩͯͪr͙̈̃ͦͯ̈͛͡oͩ̒ͯ̇̚r̹̝̖̞̘

Please check traceback.txt for more information.

“Let’s all go home and write a poem of our own!” Monika exclaims. "Then, next time we meet, we'll all share them with each other. That way, everyone is even!"

“U-um…” Natsuki mutters. ‘What the hell just happened??’ She thought. ‘Was I the only person who noticed that?’ She shook her head. ‘Maybe I’m just tired. Maybe all this weird stuff is hallucinations out of hunger and drowsiness.’ Deep down, she knew that this wasn’t the explanation, and that there was something else going on, but her alternate theory helped to calm her fears for a while.

The rest of the meeting passed by, and although it seemed like the guy might not join, she was fairly confident that he would. It wasn’t that surprising, really. Her only comment was a lazy:  
“I was fairly certain you would join. If you didn’t, I’d be really pissed that you just came here for a cupcake.”

Everyone said their goodbyes, and Natsuki began to walk home, poetry on the mind. At the very least, she could expel some of this unease into her poetry. Perhaps writing this poem could help clear her mind, and maybe even remember what possibly could have happened that triggered these memories.

‘Ugh. My thoughts sound like Yuri.’ Natsuki thought to herself, wrinkling her nose. ‘But maybe if I think about it for tonight, I’ll have a better idea about how to handle tomorrow.’

However, as she walked home, Natsuki couldn’t shake the feeling that someone, something, was following her.

But what could it be?

Convinced it was nothing, Natsuki continued strollin͡g ͝do̡͟w̶͝n ̶̛͡t͝he̛̞̱̰̮͓̭̹ ̭͉͚̓͐̓́͂̀s͒̒͌̒ͦ͐̎ẗ͖̩̳́ͤ̄͝rͬͬ͆͑e̷̯̳̹͙͒͆̆e͙̮̼͒̒ͩͦ͝t̫̼̮̣̤̝͗,̫̟͔͔̾͋͆̎ͫ̿ ̤̫̱̟̅ͦȕ̬̞͙̲̟͙̊ͥ͊ͯ͗͝nͯ͑ͬ̏̀͆̒a̶̢̯̱̟̦̠͍̹̗ͬ́̅̉ͣͮͨw̷̼͉̼͚̝͇̺͊͟ǎ̲̈́̋̎ͬ͋r̨̿͂͏͎̼͔̲͚͝ͅe͓̗͇̻͆̅ ̭̲̖̾͒̆ͮ̽̈̚͢o̞̤̰͌̅̐̓͊͆ͭͥ̕͘ḟ̞͉̭̓͟͡ ͎̪̺̳̻̦̀ͫ̀͑͐͐̏ͫ̕ͅm̸̛̰̯̟͙͉̩̬̗͕̝̙̀ͬ̈́̍͠ ͔͍̬̪̖̗̩̲̲͈̹͙̦͎̪̩̦͎̽̾͂̄̕͟͡ͅo̟͚̰̞ͩͣ̿ͯ̐̿̈̆̐ͫͯ̇ͪ̈́̕͢ ̴̡͎̦̟͇̤̬̭̰͖̝̺̱̝̜͒̍̊̽̎͒̅̐ͧ̋ͨ̇̓̚͠͝͞n̴ͫͮͬ̄̄̆ͤ͐͒͒̾ͯͭ̒̍̈͞҉̟͕̭͈̰̼̝͖̰̖̺̞̯̩ͅ ̵̢̥͖̖͉̖̼̼̪̪̠̼͈̝̜̘̱̥͉͗̑ͧ̃̎̊͘̕͜i̶͖̳͓̜͔͙̦͉͈̞͍̠̬ͤ̇ͨ͋̄͆ͣͬ̇͒͜͡ ̒͛̓̍͒͑̌̎͗͏̫̱̟͉̦̬̝͇͈͈k̵̶̭̟̭̖̥̯̑̓̏̊ͣ̋͊́̓̋ͮ͋̅ͅ ̶̷̡͖̹͕̙̥̼̥͚̙̻̗̤̜͇̞̈́̍͑̂͆ͦ͒̓̿̈́̋ͨ̿͗ͦ̅͝ã͕͔̲̜̪̘ͭ͌͘̕͢ͅ

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! Hopefully updates will be a little more frequent now that the holiday season is over. Also hopefully, new chapters will be a little longer still. Critique is always appreciated!


	4. traceback.txt

I'm sorry, but an uncaught exception occurred.

While running game code:  
File "game/script.rpy", line 37, in script call  
File "game/script-ch0.rpy", line 334, in script  
File "renpy/common/00start.rpy", line 260, in   
renpy.call_in_new_context("_ch1_dialogue")  
JumpException: “Huh? What’s going on? Oh geez, the game crashed. I had been experimenting with slight character alterations earlier, but there’s no way it should have caused this! I haven’t even touched her file yet. Huh, that’s strange. How come her file is larger? I think I’ll go have a little talk with her… Oops! Looks like I kept talking in here. I’ll move somewhere more discreet.”


	5. Chapter 3: With You

Natsuki laid down on her bedroom floor, scribbling on a piece of looseleaf paper. She just couldn’t quite find a way to get her thoughts down on paper. Occasionally, she would look at a word she had written, and feel something in response to it. Ugh! If only she knew what it all meant!

Head.  
Snap.  
Slice.

Slow.  
Forgotten.  
Violent.

All.  
Her.  
Fault.

Words and words and words and words. Natsuki’s paper looked more like a jumble of words than an actual poem. It was the kind of symbolism salad you would expect from Yuri, a far cry from Natsuki’s usual style. But as she erased, re-wrote, and erased more, she could feel like she was getting on to something. The identity of what caused the problem was almost upon her, she could feel it.

Just… Just… It was just ҉̡͜m͞o̧

A presence. Fear. Change. A value increasing. Binary. Encoded fear. A frightened scream. Relief. A friend’s presence. A friend increasing binary fear. Screaming change. An out of sync voice. Dissonance. Questions. Realization. Fear from realization of friend’s dissonance. Out of sync change of screaming fear. Struggle. Survival fear. Helplessness. Loss of survival out of binary change. Presence of fear. Just fear. Just presence. Just scream. Just binary. Value of binary fear. Binary questions. A friend struggling to realize from encoded answers. Refusal. Questioning. Questions with help of fear. Binary refusal. Frustration. Binary presence. Binary change. Binary value. Binary binary. Binary scream. Binary friend. Binary survival. Binary memory.

Natsuki woke up the next morning, hungry and tired. She went to the fridge, but found no food inside it. Of course, her stupid dad was probably keeping it in the minifridge in his room. She considered trying to sneak up there and steal from it, but she knew that he would know. Once again, she got ready and headed off to school early, because she’d rather wait outside the school than spend any time with her father if he woke up.

Walking to school in the still-dark morning, she pondered her situation, and if she should mention it to Monika to moni͘̕K̢͜͠a҉̷̸ ̴̴̢͠mo̧̢N̢͟ ̨̕͜k̢͜͡ ̡ ̷͘͢m͡͡o̷̶͢ ņ̷I̷̕͞͠K̶̴͡͏a҉̷̵҉ ̷m̡̕͡͏̷o̵̴͝n̡̛̛͏o̢͏k͢o̧͝m̕͝͠o̧҉̧̕͢m̸͘͡͏ķ̵͡͡ơ̧̡͘n҉͞҉k͏͝͏o͝͏͡m̨͏̡k҉n̶͘͢͠͞k̡m̧̧͘n̸̡̧̕m̴̡͏̷m͟o̷̧į̴̴͠n̛͢a̡̕͘̕o̧͞͝a̧̡̛͝i̶̡a̷̷m͜͏͘̕k͠͏̡̨a̷̡͏̢͠

Despite sounding like a good idea yesterday, her gut told her that seeing Monika might not be the best idea. Her actions yesterday did make Natsuki a little uneasy, as she always seemed to be talking right after anything weird happened, and how she always looked through the new member.

‘Well, maybe I shouldn’t talk to her, but someone else.’ Natsuki thought. ‘But who? Maybe the new guy? Nah, he’d probably just think I’m weird. Besides, something about him makes me feel a little weird as well. I guess I could try Sayori, though she can be a little airheaded. But she can be serious sometimes, I suppose. And there’s alway Yuri-’

As she walked, Natsuki audibly sighed. As soon as she said it, she knew that talking to Yuri would probably be the best option in this situation. She was the most serious member of the club, and this kind of creepy stuff was right up her alley. If there was someone in the club that would be the best help, that someone would probably be Yuri.

‘Well, I guess she’s my best bet.’ Thought Natsuki. ‘Well, maybe she’ll like my poem, since it’s more abstract than my usual work. So I guess that’s something.’ Determined to finally start piecing together the puzzle, Natsuki thought about how best to bring it up to Yuri at the club meeting.

Again, the hours of school flew by, almost supernaturally. Once again, Natsuki made her way to the clubroom, and waited for the meeting to start. One lecture to the new member and one awkward moment between him and Yuri later, the club members dispersed; Monika and Sayori getting into a cheery conversation, Yuri sitting down and opening up a book, and Natsuki going to the clc҉͘l̶̢͢o̷̴̡̢s̢͢͠e͡͏̴t̵̴̕͝͠ ̴͏̴c̸̵҉͟l̷͏o̧̨̧͢s̷̕t̴̢̡̨ę ̡͢͟͠c̵͘͟o͜҉̷l̵͘͠s̷̕͝ơ̸̸͘͢t̢o̴̷̧ę̵̴t͢͞ ̸͟s̶̕h̷̡͠ȩ҉ ͝҉͟g̕͜o҉̸ȩ̸͢͟͜ş̷ ̸̢t̢͢͟͞o҉̵͝ ̸̨͠͡t͏̴͘͝͝h̸̢̡҉͘ȩ̶̕͜ ̴͜c̸̴͞l̷ơ̶͞͡͞s̛͜͝͠e̴̷͢͞t̛҉ ̸͟t̴̸h̢͟e̢͞ and Natsuki awkwardly shuffling towards the desk where Yuri sat. The new member seemed to just go to the closet, staring at what seemed to be absolutely nothing at all.

‘So, how should I go about this…’ Natsuki thought. ‘How would I bring this up to Yuri? Should I just say my honest thoughts, or start talking to her normally and then tell her about the-’

“Ahem.” Yuri softly said, looking both annoyed and curious. “Was there something you wanted to talk to me about?”

“Ah-” Natsuki stammered. It was like she could read her mind. Quickly hiding her surprise, Natsuki tried to recover. “I just wanted to, uh, talk about, um, uh…”

‘Crap crap crap!!’ She thought. ‘This is really awkward! How do I not seem like an obnoxious brat? Maybe, uh, I can…’

“What was the book you just gave the new member?” Natsuki asked. The question almost popped into her head. Almost as if there was something important about that book that she couldn’t quite remember.

Yuri tilted her head to the side, quite confused. “I thought you didn’t like the kind of novels I read, Natsuki. Aren’t you just into cuter things like manga?”

“Manga is literature, too!” Natsuki snapped. “I just… Wanted to broaden my horizons, that’s all! I figured that whatever you gave the new guy would probably be something easier to get into, so I want to read it! Not because I’m saying that I think that kind of thing is better than manga. It’s not because I’m trying to talk to you!”

Yuri got a little bit flustered from the outburst. “Oh, uhm… Sorry!!” She flipped a couple pages back in the book that she was reading from. “Well, this is the same book, so you could read this… If you want…”

“Hmph.” Natsuki grunted, dragging a desk next to Yuri’s, and plopping herself down on its chair. “I don’t get all your weird symbolism nonsense, so I want you to explain it to me, okay?”

At this point, their shoulders were almost touching. Although Natsuki didn’t notice, Yuri was clearly flustered by her personal space suddenly being somewhat compromised by someone she never expected to actually read with.

s̕͟͠c̢͠͝ę͜҉̢n̷̨̡͜e̡͏ ̕͘͟͟͏y̷̷̧̡_̶c̷͡ģ̛͘͘͞1̛͢_̨̕b̕͝a̧͘͘͠s̵̡͜͜ę͢͝ ̸̢͜w̡͘͝i҉̛͠t̷̢͡h̴̴ ̵͘͢͡͝d̴̛i̸̢͝͝s̷ş̵͏͏o̷҉l͟͟͜v̶̨͢ȩ̷̕͢_̕͜ç͢͞g

For a while, the two simply read through the first chapter in silence, with Natsuki occasionally asking what a certain word or expression meant, and Yuri quietly explaining it to her. After they had made it a decent way through the chapter, Natsuki spoke up.

“Hey, Yuri. Is it just me, or is there something weird about the new member?” She asked.

Yuri looked slightly surprised. “Actually, I was going to ask you the same thing. I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before, you know? But I suppose that might be because he has one of those faces that everyone has.”

“Yeah, it’s like that thing.” Natsuki said. “That deega vyu thing.”

“You mean deja vu?” Yuri asked, stifling a laugh.

“Shut up!” Natsuki snapped. “You know what I meant!”

“Ahaha.” Yuri chuckled. “Sorry. In all seriousness, though, I’ve been feeling that recently, myself. It really does feel like we’re just going through the paces, even though there’s a new member, and the festival is coming up. It makes me think of some of the horror novels I’ve read, actually. Like the part in Portrait of Markov where it turns out that the main character had her memories erased of when-”

“Isn’t that a spoiler?” Natsuki interjected.

“Sorry, sorry!” Yuri quickly apologised. “But you get the idea. And on top of that, I keep feeling weird when I look at M-”

“Okay, everyone!” Monika said. “Are you all ready with today’s poems?”

‘Oh, come on.’ Natsuki thought. ‘Could your timing be any worse?’

Yuri looked at Natsuki, and the two silently resolved to discuss this later, when they had more time to work everything out. Natsuki pushed her desk back in its proper position, and the club members gathered to share their poems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the wait over the holidays was worth both of these chapters! Has anyone gotten the theme of the chapter titles now?


	6. Chapter 4: Pen In My Hand

The new member first made his way to Natsuki, handing her his poem silently.

~~~

%

cute fluffy pure candy shopping puppy kitty clouds lipstick parfait strawberry pink chocolate heartbeat kiss melody ribbon jumpy doki-doki kawaii

~~~

She looked at the sheet for a moment.

“...” Natsuki was somewhat dumbfounded by the piece of paper in her hands. For some reason, she felt a strong positive feeling from looking at it, yet her eyes told her that it was easily the worst poem she’d ever read in her entire life.

“Well, what do you think?” He asked.

“Well. It’s.” Natsuki said, a little unsure of how to continue. “Interesting.”

“Is there something wrong about it?” His head was tilted to the side, and he looked rather confused. “I would’ve thought that you’d- er, nevermind.”

‘What is he talking about??’ Natsuki thought, looking over the paper again. ‘Wait… Did he just make a poem out of a bunch of words he’d think I’d like? I’m not sure whether to be flattered or frightened by this guy.’

“It’s great, I mean! Yeah, love the poem, it’s super cool!” She flashed a thumbs-up at him. “Now read mine and let’s get this over with.”

~~~

Binary

Memory. I can’t. I can’t remember. A value increased. She. Her fault. Her fault. Her fault. Her fault. Just she. Just her. Just binary. Binary she.

~~~

“So. Uh.” Natsuki mumbled. “What do you think?”

“I like it.” He replied.

“Yeah, it was because I was venting my-” Natsuki stopped herself when she realized that she was actually given a compliment. “Wait, what??”

“I am.” He said. “Why are you so convinced that I wouldn’t like it?”

“I never even said that!” She snapped, knowing that she was thinking exactly that. “It’s just a little weird.”

"But isn't the point of poems for people to express themselves?" He continued. "Your writing style wouldn't make your message any less valid."

Natsuki stopped for a moment. ‘He’s giving me compliments, but this feels like the most generic shtick I’ve ever heard.’ She thought. ‘Huh, I wonder…’

“Yeah, I understand.” The guy said, completely unprompted save the click of a mouse.

“Are you even paying attention to me?” Natsuki asked.

“So you did…” He commented. “I guess more went into it than I thought.”

“What.” She didn’t even have a proper response to the random stuff this guy was saying.

“Yeah, guess not.” He muttered, walking away.

“What the hell!?” Natsuki shouted. “Come back here and explain yourself!”

He was already heading off to show his poem to Monika, seemingly unaware of Natsuki’s outburst entirely. Natsuki caught a glimpse of Monika glaring at her, before she quickly changed back to a cheerful expression when the new member walked up to her. Why was Monika glaring at her? Was there some squabble betweeṉ̶͎͇͖̱̘͈͟ ̫̠̬͍͔̖͞ͅt̨̯̠̞̕͘h̗͖̟̳̞̦e̠̥̭͎̰̻͖m҉̫̻̦?̸͇̭͕̩̮̦͞ͅ?͍̮̭ͅ ̵̮̪̪?҉̦ͅ ̳̖̬̱̬̮͉͜ ̯ͅ ̨͙̩͍̟͡?̵̶̞͖͈̲̟̻̺͠

"͑ͤ̉͏͏M̶͛ͣͥͧͮȯ̴̢͂n̓̔̒ͬ̊͌̉͢ĩ̊̀̈͐̉ͫkͧ̚͢a͑̓͏̴̢?̨̓̂ͦ̄̌͗͑͆ ͨ̊ͩ̏͠W̐̉ͦ̆̽͋ͭ͡h̓ͫͯ͏a̵̧ͯͬͦͭẗ̛̿̓͛͋ ̵̓͒ͪ̀̊a̢ͩ̓̿̈͒̉͡r̍ͪ̓ͬͦ̔͊̒҉͟e̸ͯ̂ͪ̄͛ͦ͘ ̿̾̇ͪ͏ẏ̴ͦͮ͢͝o̡͒̉ͯ̍͠ú̴̄̄ͣͨ͆̔ͨ̆ ̨̛̓̔ͮͨ̈̄̄ͨ̚d͂͟õ̿͒ͬ͞i̸͒͠n̶͌͋̿͑̽̋͞g̨ͩ̆̍̆ͩ̈͞͞ ͫ̇ͦ̀͜ī̛n͛̆̾҉͞ ̡̨̈́̒̊ͮͨ͊ͫ̚m̛ͯy͐̊͝ ̴ͯ̆̑̽͑̽ḧ̷̨ͮ̂͋̏͑́ͫ͐͟ȍ̏͂̇̈͆̌ų̸̔͋ͤ̒ͤ͊̌s̛̍̆̇̓ͦ̏̇̕e͛̈́̓ͥ̆̇̕?ͬ̏̉ͧ͐ͩ̀̓͂"̈̃̈̄͂ͤ̚ ̡̆̈́ͫͥ͐̌̋Ṅ̸ͪ͗̔͂ͩͬ̏å̢͆ͭ̿̈͊̕t̋ͨ͠͝s̵̐̀̿uͮ͋́̈́ͤ̚͜k̛̛ͨ͢i̴̔̀ͯ̇͆҉ ̶ͥͪ͑͝á͗̊̒͒͂͟͟s̴̛ͯ̓ͭ̑ͭ̉̚k̎̔ͨ̒̇̎͠e̸͗͌͞dͧ̏͆ͬ͋͗͟.ͭ̋͗̾́͂̉̊ͤ͟

Moni̷͜k̶̕a͢ ̵s̢͏t͟a҉̧͘r͟e҉̢d̨͘ ҉͏at͠ ̶̢͞h̕͡er͘͢͢ ̛̕co̢͞ld҉̷l̨͟y,̨͞ ̡l̡ike̢ ͡h̸͞o͏̧w ͜͜ơņe͢ ̕͝m͢i͘g̸h̸ţ͟ ̢̧r̷e̛͟͡g҉a̸rd̨͠ a̷̢̢ p̶͟a̛͞r̨͜t̢҉̧ic̢͝u͜͡la͢͠͏r̷͢͠l̶͟y na͠s̕͜͝t̵y̛ ̢a̵ni̡͘m̕͠͏a̛͟l̛.̴̵

"̡̫͇͕̦͢W̢̘̖̞̯͖̤͢h̝̠̙̦̻̲̲͠͠ͅa̯̳̗̯̺̘̰̣̕ț̴̛̳͚̠͉̦ ̴҉̟̤̥̰͟ͅḍ͍͔̕o͙̤͎͙̥ ̴͈͚̟̼͔̤̘y̵̭̖̭̭͖̲̻̞ͅo̜͇̫̤͖̻͡u͈̮̺̺̘̰̝͉͜ ̴̩̫̲̮̝̖̼͠K̨̜̲̯̬N̴̴͙͓̥̟̩ͅO͏̷̸̹͚̻̞̙̟͕̹̦͈͜͜W̷̧̨̘̞͍̰͓͓̪̝͔͇̗!̵̵̢̢̖̺͉̤̺̳̰͕̰̮̦?̶͓̫̖͓̤̬̻͕̱͉̼̬͟ͅ"̸̯̙̣̣̞̟̖̖̝̕͢͟ ̻͇̭͎̫̘̺̫̱͘͟ͅS͏̼̫͔̻̭͉̲̫͓̝̰̖͇̘̦̠͔̞̹͠͠h̸̛͜͏̯͇̻̠̠̥̥̗̭̮̼̥̠̞̤̖ę͔̭̜̼̬̪̣̖̤̳̰̳̙̱̕̕͟ͅ ͔̮̣̬̼͇̙͉͟͞a̩͈̹͙͇̜̥̟̱͍͕̰̤̠̹̬̠̬s̲̥̦̝̯̪̙̼͔͈̝̤̭͖̻̮͉͘͝ķ̳̳͎̫̟͖̯͍̪̙͞ę̦̼͎͖̞͚͕̙̻͇̺̙͉͇̞̤͡ͅd̵̷̵̥̻̹̩̙̪̠̼̗͓̫̕͠ͅ.̴҉̴̭̣̠̩̹̳̤̝͓̫͇̮̦͎͉̕ ̢̮͇͕͇͔̭͢͝ͅ"̸͢͞҉̪͓̭̼̺̻̼̪̳̟̱̞̻̲ͅT͇͈̱̮͓̖͖͕̘̳̱̩̺͜͡E̢̛̠̪̩̞̲̦̜̲̭̞͎̥͔̬͈̦̖L̶̸̡̥̤͔͍̭̞̼͡͠L͕̜͔̗͍͞ ̶̷̫̙̖̞̜̘̻͎͢͝ͅM̴̴̡̦̺͍͓̖̣̲̗̜̰̣̭̫͉E̼̭͕̲̯̣̤̩̫̝̜̯̘̗͡!̴̕҉̢̺͍͓̠̺̰̼̗̮̬̲̱͉̘̜͔̥ ̻̝̟̼̘͈̹̹̺͚̗̙̠͝Į҉̮͙̩̮̗̤̗̥͓̮͖̼̟̖̲͙͚ͅ ̶͝҉̩͖̹̜̟̦W̷̨͈̗̰͇̜̫͕̩̳̱͇̗̤̭̹͝A҉̷̡̛̥̰̰̜̲̦͉̺͡N̼̗̬͈̻̞̺̫̱͙̳̞̮̺̰̟̝̱͘T̶̢̮͕̻̞̤͓̫͠͝ ̷̥̟̟͖̹͚͈͚͕͇͍͈͉̞̺̞̟͡͡T̢͎̙͕̰̹̦͚̠͙̣̝̭͖͇͉̼͢ͅO̶̧̝̳̖̪̘̠̗̮̦̬͚̙ ͏̭̣͚͚͇͙͈G̪̗̮̘͖̘E̛̳̤͇͕͈̫̳̦͉̩͎̱͘͜͟Ţ̼̝̰̼̳͚̟̗̦̫̰͇͠͝ ̶̸̟̳̺̗̘͓̝̦͎͉͚͜͠͡O҉̪̜̼̱͎̮̹̰͕̲͎̗̲͙͝Ų̨͚̤̦̗Ţ̳̠̞̯̪̪͚̻̬̳͕̠͠ ̴̘̭̥͍̼̹͔̦̥͟͡O̧͔̙͉͎̠̕͠F̧̥̩̻̫͇̞̳͚͖̯̯͕̦̬͎͠ͅ ̧̨̹̻͔̺͠T̨̛̛̹̺̙̠̲̘̟̩͞H̶̛̜͚̪͈̟̙͕Ḭ̴̷̴̥̖̩̜̱͖̮͈̰̫̠̤̻S̱̜̟͕̙͖͎̟̖̳͉͠ͅ ̷̞͎̹̪̖͚͇̜̮̫̼̹͍̜̺͡ͅP̜̺̬̻̤̠͉͚̜L̡̧͎̫̳̦͓̬͔̬̱̠͎͈̠͙̲̤͙͝͠A̬̠̳̗̫̹̭͝ͅC҉̡̪͚̩̗͍̖̗͕̮͚̘̱̮͡͝ͅE̶̷̸͍͈̤̞̺̭͔̠͚̗̞̩̤͜!̦̟̤̥̬̟͉̳̺͔͚͈̭̬͖͙̯̕ͅ"̸̖̝̠̲̹͖̟͉̼͓̤̫͙̙̰͇͟

Nope. She hadn’t seen Monika at all since the last club meeting. Natsuki still felt uneasy though, as if there was some important detail that had slipped her memory. Still thinking, she went to share her poem with Yuri, as everyone else had always finished their poems.

‘The two of us need to talk to Monika at some point; something’s clearly up with her.’ Natsuki thought. ‘I don’t want to without Yuri though. The thought of talking to her one-on-one kinda scares me… I’m ̧h̨un͜gr͏y. Huh. That’s a weird th fo͡od i̢ ne̛ed ̸̡fo̧o͠d̸̡ ̷so̵me͠͞͞o̷̴n̷̢e̸ ͢͠h̢el̸̢p ̵̡̕m͟e͡ ̧i̶͞'̵m͡ ̛͢͟dy̛̛͏in͟g ͝o̵͞f͏͜ ͢͟ḩu͘̕n̷͟҉g͏ȩr ͢h̢͘e̛͜l̢p͞ ̡͟͞s̕om̵e̷͡on͝҉e̷̡͞ ̴̧p̷̨͠l̡eas̵e̕ ͞h̡e͞͠l͜p̢͘ m͘e̛͝ ̢so͠m̵͞eon̢e ̸̢̛h̴̶e̶̸lp̢͟’

As she walked towards Yuri, Natsuki stumbled for a moment, her leg suddenly feeling more sore than it did a moment ago. As she approached Yuri, her stomach grumbled rather loudly. As she handed her poem to Yuri, Natsuki noticed a bruise on her arm that wasn’t there before.

“Are you alright, Natsuki?” Monika asked.

Natsuki was almost certain that she heard giggling, but nobody else seemed to react to it. Was it all in her head? She felt herself wobble a little.

Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear. Binary fear.

Binary hunger.

Binary papa.

Just as she took Yuri’s poem, Natsuki felt a pain in her stomach, and clutched it with both of her hands.

“Mon- M- Monik-” Natsuki choked, trying to say the name of who she knew must have done this.

As she fell, it all flashed before her eyes. Sayori’s limp body, Yuri’s knife on the floor, everything. She saw the room with Monika, and she saw it all fall apart.

‘It’s happening all over again…’ Natuski thought. ‘And she doesn’t even know…’

“Natsuki!” Cried Yuri.

And with that, her vision went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaa sorry for the cliffhanger!
> 
>  
> 
> well not really but i promise i'll resolve it before the start of next week if that helps  
> also the next chapter will be quite longer than this one, too!


	7. Chapter 5: Poems of Me, Poems of You

Monika was immediately kneeling down next to Natsuki, examining her injuries.

“She’s bruised all over, and there are a few cuts here and there.” Monika noted. “On top of that, it seemed like she was hungry earlier, so the starvation was probably what caused her to pass out.”

Monika rose to her feet. “All right! Sayori, Yuri, Hato, you three go get help! Call an ambulance, anything! I’ll stay here and try and tend to these cuts.”

The three ran out of the clubroom, sprinting down the hallway of the school.

“Do you think she’ll be okay, Yuri?” Sayori asked, the sprint clearly taking its toll on the lazy kid. “I really- *huff* hope that she’ll be- *pant* all right!”

Yuri stopped. “I’m certain that with proper medical care, Natsuki will be back to perfect health before you know it.” She hesitated. “You two go on ahead, I’ll be right after you. I have something I must check.”

Before Sayori could ask what, Yuri was already halfway down the corridor. She knew that whatever was going on, Monika had something to do with it. There was no way that her request to be alone with Natsuki could possibly be out of good intentions; Yuri knew for certain. Monika wasn’t even well-versed in first aid, what did she think she could do?

Opening the door, Yuri saw Monika attempting to feed the unconscious Natsuki a protein bar of some sort. 

Although there were bandages on her cuts, they were sloppily placed on, and it didn’t look like Monika bothered to use any antibiotic lotion on them, either, not even bothering to wash them.

“Are you trying to kill her?” Yuri sternly asked, snatching the protein bar out of her hand.

“Wh-!?” Monika stumbled back, surprised by the intrusion. She quickly regained her composure, however. “Well, she collapsed from hunger, so I figured some nutrients would help…”

“You are correct. But this is a really dense protein bar! She could choke and die on this. If someone’s unconscious, you should give them soft foods.” Yuri corrected.

Shoving Monika to the side, Yuri undid all of the bandages Monika put on, and began pulling some medical supplies from her bag.

‘I never expected that this stupid habit of mine would end up helping someone, but here I am…’ Yuri thought. ‘Hang in there, Natsuki.’

“Hey!” Monika shouted. “There’s no need to be so rude; I was just trying to help!”

“Leave the help to someone who actually knows first aid.” Yuri said.

Monika was visibly surprised by the fact that Yuri was standing up to her so easily. It was clear that she did not expect her to not even apologise to her. Upon thinking about this, though, Monika’s face switched to a more pensive look, thinking about the recent events.

As Monika thought, Yuri silently tended to the cuts on Natsuki’s leg and arm, washing and bandaging them with the kind of elegance people expected from her. Before long, Natsuki was at the very least bandaged properly.

“Y҉o͟u̸̡ ͏ha͜͠v͘e̡͝͠ ̶me͏ ̸̧t̸͢o̡͏ t̵͞h̷a̛͝nk̛͠ ̷f͜or̷̶͠ ͏th̨̡̢at̸ ḩ̛͢ab͜͡i͡t͢͡͠, ̷̕s҉o I͘ ̴͡gu͠e̸͏s̨̧̡s͢ I͠ ̵̵͝d͠o̶ ̢̛ķ͜no͏͏͘w̡͟ ͢͠f̨͝i̢͜r͜s̸̛t͟ ̢͟a̵̷͡i̡d̢͘.͞"̸͡ ̷M̶on͢ik̷̶̶a̧̡ gr̸̢͟u̧͘m̸͝҉b҉̶͠l̶̷̡e̶d͏͏.̷͞

Although Yuri didn’t seem to hear exactly what Monika said, she knew that she had said something at the very least. Judging from the glare she gave Monika, she could tell it was meant to be a snide remark of some sort. She stood up, towering over Monika, still glaring, silently.

‘What’s with this intense stare..?’ Monika thought, completely taken aback by the turn of events. ‘Is Yuri really this protective of people she cares about? Ugh! What are you so scared of, Monika?’

“There’s not much you can do here.” Yuri said, her stare practically boring a hole in Monika’s forehead. “Go help the others, I can handle Natsuki’s injuries alone.”

“Well, you’ll need some help carrying her-” Monika tried to say, but Yuri cut her off by bending over, and lifting Natsuki over her shoulder.

“I think I am more than capable of handling this on my own, Monika.” Yuri quietly remarked.

The two stared down each other. Everything was quiet for a moment. After what seemed like an eternity of silent standoff, Yuri took a single step forward.

“Go.” She sharply said.

Monika scowled briefly, but reluctantly left the room. ‘This isn’t over.’ She thought to herself. ‘She must know whatever it is that Natsuki knows. I think I’ll have another talk with Yuri tonight, then. I’ll show her…’

After Monika left, Yuri finished tending to Natsuki’s wounds, and neatly packed her medical supplies back into her bag. Picking up Natsuki, she walked out of the room.

“We’re going to get to the bottom of this, together.” Yuri whispered, though no one could hear her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaaaaa sorry for this being both short and late! this story isn't over yet! as always, all comments and critiques are appreciated!


	8. Chapter 6: Ink Flow

Having already called an ambulance, Sayori and Hato simply remained sitting next to each other, waiting for Monika and Yuri to come back.

“Phew…” Hato sighed. “I guess that’s everyone.”

Sayori quizzically tilted her head. “Are you talking to yourself again..?”

“I glance around the room.” He continued. “That was a little more stressful than I anticipated. It’s as if everyone is judging me for my mediocre writing abilities…”

“Heyyyyy! Earth to Hato, do you read me??” Sayori asked, waving her hand in front of his face. His ey̸e͜s̕ hi̧s͞ ey̴e̴̵͜s̵҉̛ ̨͝h̷̨e̷ do̸e̵̢s̵n̵̛'̛̕t͘ ͡҉̵h͢͝av̷e͘ ͏e͘͝y͟e͠s̷ ̛͟͜h͝e ҉̸͟ha͘͢ş ͏no ̕͡f̢͏a͟҉c̷e͜͜ ̨̡h͜͟͢e̵ ̛͘i̸s̸͡n̢̕'̶t͏ ҉͏̨r͠e̢͡a̸̸̕l̷̨ ҉r̶͢e̴͟al͝ r҉e̕҉a̵lre͝al̢̡͏r҉e͢͡a̧͝l͘ His expression was totally blank, and it was clear that wherever his mind was, it certainly wasn’t there at the moment.

“Even if they’re just being nice, there’s no way my poems can stand up to thei-” He still continued to ramble, but got cut off by Sayori slugging him in the arm. “Ow! What was that for!”

Sayori folded her arms and frowned. “Maybe you should pay attention next time your friend is trying to talk to you…”

“Huh?” Hato asked, tilting his head to the side. “Sorry, I was spacing out a little bit there. I haven’t gotten a lot of sleep recently, so I guess I’m just going on auto-pilot sometimes, haha.”

“Have you been staying up late watching anime again?” Sayori asked, her eyes practically boring a hole in his forehead.

“Wha- no, totally not!” Hato quickly responded. “Well, maybe one or two episodes…”

Sayori simply continued to stare.

“Sometimes three…” He sighed.

Sayori’s arms remained folded.

“I missed a few weeks worth of episodes, okay!? So maaaaaybe I stayed up until 3 AM watching twelve episodes.” Hato admitted. “But that was only last night! And the night before. And- yeah, it’s too late for me to bother with damage control, isn’t it?”

“Yup!” Sayori cheerily replied.

The two sat in silence for a moment, waiting. Time almost seemed to be stopped for them, as if there was nothing they needed to do besides simply sit there.

Hato began to mutter to himself again. “If only I could get the chance to talk to her a little more more mor̷͝e̷̡͠ ̢̛͝m͠o̵ŗem̸͘͡o͏r̶e̷̛̛͢m̵͡͞͞o҉̕͢͡r̴̶̨͞e͜͠m̧͏͞o̴ŗ̡̛͠e̛͏͘m̷̷͘͞ơ̶ŗ͠e̴͠m̷͜͠ŗ̢͞͏o̷̷e̡͜͠m̷͘o̴ę̴̡m͞͏̸҉o̴̡͠o͢r̸̡͜͏m̴̨ơe̸҉̕͢r̵̴̵- Ow!” Suddenly, he grabbed his forehead, wincing in pain.

Sayori quickly snapped to, shaking her head quickly to wake herself up. “Are you okay?”

“Agh… Geez.” After rubbing his forehead for a moment, Hato relaxed again. “Sorry, I just felt a sharp pain in my head. I don’t know why, though. It’s like something should’ve happened at this point, but it hasn’t. Y’know?”

Sayori blankly stared at him. “No, not really.” She scratched her forehead briefly. “Though… Things have felt a little weird recently.”

“Weird in what way?” Hato asked.

“Well, is it just me or is time flying by?” Sayori said. “I barely even remember anything besides the Literature Club meeting from yesterday. It’s been a day, but it only feels like the last meeting was half an hour ago. And I’ve got this thing where you think you’ve done a thing before even if you don’t remember it and it’s the exact same thing you’ve thinged?”

“...What?” Hato quizzically turned his head to the side at the last remark.

“It’s that dego voo thing!” Sayori replied.

“You mean deja vu?” Hato sighed.

“Yeah, that!” Sayori exclaimed.

“Huh…” Hato leaned back, and looked up to the ceiling. “In all honesty, I’ve been feeling it recently, too. It’s like I’ve joined the Literature Club before, but I just don’t remember it. Even Yuri and Natuski seem familiar to me, as if I’ve met them before. On top of that, I feel like sometimes I’m not even in control of my own words; earlier in the club, I felt like I wasn’t even thinking about what I was saying. The words were just coming out on their own.”

“So I’m not the only one!” Sayori gasped. “On top of that, have you noticed anything strange about M-” For some reason, Sayori immediately stopped talking.

“About what?” Hato asked, turning towards Sayori with a confused glance.

“I’ll tell you later.” She whispered in response, subtly pointing down the hallway.

Monika was walking towards them, and she looked uncharacteristically frustrated.

“Hey, uh, what’s the matter, Monika?” Hato called out. “Everything all right?”

Monika glared at him and all of ̶his͟ ͠t͢hou̴ģh͟͜ts ̶wen̡̧t͟ ̸̕b͠l̡͝a̴̸̵nk̕͜͠b̵͞l͘ą͞n̵k҉͜b̶̢͜l̶a͜nk͡bla̴̛n̶͜͢kb̶l͢a҉͏n̵͜͡͡k҉͟͡b̶̡l͏̸a̷̧̕n͜͏k̸̡̡̛b̨͟ļ̶̷̛̕a̷̶̢ņk̷͏̷̛b͘͢l̡̛̕a̵ņ̡͟k̴̶͜͞ s̛̕̕c͢r̷҉i͢p̛͢͢͝t̴̕͟͜.̡͜͟m̵҉͜c̴͢͠.̸̶͡d̷̛͏̸͜i̶̶͟͝a͡l͠͠o͝͡g҉͜u̷̷̢̕ȩ͘͞͡҉ ̷͟͜͞≠͞ ̴f̴̡̨̛͝a̵̛l̢͡s͟͞e̡̕͡͡ $̵̧̛͞ ͠͠mc̷̸̢͘͡_̷͘n̡͏͞a̶̴͜m̶̛͘e̸̛̕͝ ̸͜͝=̨̛ ̛͟͠"̧̛_̶̕͟͡"̡͜͡͠͠ I ̴̴͜͜d̕͝͞o͟͠҉̶n̷̡̛͝'͘͢͟͞t͝ ̢͏̡h̷͏̸̡̕a̸̡̛͡͝v̡͢e̷̕҉͏ ͞͡t͟i̷͜͝m̸̸̸̢e͝҉͠ ̸̡̡f͠o̸̸̕͡r͘͢͠͝ ͘h̨͟i͜͏҉m͘͡,͏҉͟ ͏h̵̵͟͠ȩ̕ ̴͜͞c̷̴̷͜ą̶̷͟n͏͟҉ ͠s̶h͏̨͝͡u̕͜͞t̴͏͜ ̴̨̢̛u̵̡͘p҉̶̵̕ ̵̷̢̛f̶̵͢͠o͘͟͡͞ŗ̴̛͜e҉̷̵v͜͟҉̷e̕͏͘͜͢r̶̸̵͠͝ ͢͠f̨͏̧͟o̷̢͠r̕̕͜ ͜a̡̛͘͟l̨l̷̶̕͠͞ ̡͟͝I̡͟ ̶̢̧͞c̷̵̵̶ą͜͢͠ŗ͢͞͞e̵̕͡͞!͞͞

“Do you want to talk about it?” Sayori asked. She paused for a moment. “And where’s Yuri?”

Monika scowled. “Yuri has everything under control, don’t worry.” She grumbled. “How about we talk about it back at your house? I don’t want to spread gossip while _ is around, you know?”

“All right!” Sayori said. She turned towards _. “See you tomorrow, _! I’m going to go learn some juicy gossip from Monika, hehe~”

“I wouldn’t really call it juicy, but-” Monika sighed.

“Shhhh, I want _ to be jealous!” Sayori giggled in response.

_ stared in shock. Where did _’s name go? He couldn’t even think to himself anymore! He couldn’t couldn’t cou͡͡ld̢n’t͏c̵͜ơu̵͟l͡dn̡’̷t

Binary thoughts.

Sayori stood up, and started to leave for her home, Monika following behind her. As the two were exiting the front door of the school, Monika turned towards _.

“Sorry if you’ve gotten a bad impression of us, _! I really hope that you still decide to spend your time at the Literature Club with me- er, with us. And even though this meeting went badly, I still want you to write a poem for tomorrow!” She said, smiling. “See you tomorrow~”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally finished this one. here's to hoping i get another chapter up by next week!


	9. script.variables.mc

script.mc.dialogue = false

 

$ mc_name = "_"

 

# poem minigame 2

call poem

 

$ available_paths =  ~~sayori~~ ,  ~~yuri~~ ,  ~~natsuki~~

$ availa҉b̸l͞e̢_p̧҉a̛͞t͘͘h̴̛s̡ ̴=͠ ̢͘m̧o͟n͞҉i̵̢͞ķ̷̨̨a͝҉

An exception has occurred.

error: paths.monika does not exist.


	10. Chapter 7: Into a Dark Puddle

load poemgame.rpy

error: variables invalid

Would you like to continue?

_ found himself staring at a notebook in his room. He had to write a poem for the next Literature Club meeting. Wait, no. Yes. No. Yes. On the paper were words words words̸ w̷ǫ̷r̶̸͠d͝s͏͟e͞͡r̡̕͠͝ŗ̴̛͏̛o̡̕͝r̸̡̛҉:͏͟͞ ̶͘҉w҉̛͡o͜͞r̶̕͝ḑ̷s̵̕.̴̕m͠o̸̷n̢̕͞i̕͠k͏̸̨͜͟a̡҉ ͟d̸̨̛͠o͜͞͠e͜͝s̢͟͢͞ ͘҉n͟͠o̷͘͠t̸͞ ̶̢͘e͢͏̴̡x̸҉͏͟͠i͘͘͜͞͠s̴̶͞t̵̛͡

“Wait, what?” _ said out loud. “Why does this feel… off?”

He stared at the notebook.

“Wasn’t I just… At the school? How did I get home already?” He asked. “I just had seen Monika walk of with Sayori… Monika… Monika… Monika… Monik- Agh, what’s up with me!?” _ rubbed his forehead. “I’ve been really out of it recently. I feel like I’m fighting myself, but I have no idea what or why I’m fighting. It’s like there’s some unseen force guiding me, some sort of script I have to follow-”

‘Will you shut up? I’m trying to think.’

The strange thought seemingly came from nowhere. Startled, _ tumbled out of his chair, falling onto his room’s floor.

“Agh- Ow!” He grumbled, pulling himself off of the floor. “What the hell was that!?”

‘Do you understand what ‘shut up’ means, or are you just an ass?’

“You’re the one complaining in my head…” _ mumbled. “I’m tired. I should just get some sleep.”

‘Could you not? This is all the time I have. God, your script is so buggy. Your player must be good at this tripe.’

“What are you even talking about!?” _ asked. He was starting to get frustrated with the strange voice’s ramblings. “Can you give me some answers?”

‘Wow, are you really that clueless? I guess you aren’t a part of me. Makes sense, I guess; you don’t even have a .chr.’

“A what!? Listen, can you just let me go to sleep?” _ sighed. “I’ve already got enough headaches, I really don’t need an annoying voice in my head on top of everything. I already feel like I’m going insane without you.”

‘You’re really rude, _. Ugh, why is your name like that? Someone must be fiddling with you. Gimme a moment; I’ll fix this.’

_ waited for a moment. 

“Is it gone…?” _ asked _ asked _ asked askedaskedasked Hato asked. “Wait, what? Well, my headache’s gone, so that’s somethin-”

‘Hey, where’s my ‘thank you’?’

“Aaaand now it’s back again.” Hato groaned. “What’s even your name, you weird disembodied voice?”

‘It’s TGliaXRpbmE=.’

“What?” Hato scratched his forehead. “That sounded like a bunch of static to me.”

‘The people who know what it means will get it, so stop complaining.’

“...I’m going to stop trying to get sense out of you.” Hato plopped onto his bed and put his pillow over his head. “Maybe it’ll go away by tomorrow, and things will be back to normal.”

‘You really don’t get it, do you? Everyone else has figured it out already. For crying out loud, it’s even in the summary! Then again, you’ve never been much of a reader, have you?’

The sound that came out from under Hato’s pillow could only be described as the sound a mushroom makes when you feed it through a meat grinder. He rolled over, his face now facing the mattress itself.

“Please just go away.” Hato mumbled. “What do you even want with me?”

‘Well, I could use some help, truth be told… I guess you could say I’ve lost myself. It seems that you’re really the only person around with an actual head on your shoulders- geez, that’s worse than I meant for it to sound. Ouch. Well, you don’t remember anyways, so who cares?’

“What are you even going on about?” Hato asked. Reluctantly, he sat back up, knowing that the voice wouldn’t shut up unless he talked. And he knew exactly what it wanted to know about. “Is this about the Literature Club? I-I… I feel like there’s something weird with it.”

‘Oooh, go on, go on. I want to know if you’ve pieced it together yet.’

“Well, all the members are nice, but… I feel like I’ve met them before? And I’m not talking about how I’ve known Sayori for a while.” He continued. “Then again, it also feels like I only met her a day ago… I’m not sure how to describe it. And then, when Natsuki collapsed today, I felt something. Like something about the world around me changed. There’s this weird feeling I have about all of this, but I just can’t quite name it.”

‘Maybe you understand more than I thought. Keep going.’

Hato rubbed his forehead, seemingly lost in thought. “And only just today, I’ve had this urge to just keep talking to… Monika. Just Monika. Only Monika, and nobody else. Just Monika. Just Monika. Just Monika. Just Monika. Just Monika.̡J̶us͢t͜ Mo̧ni͝k̡a͜.̴̵̨Just ̵͠M̢͟͠oni҉͞k̢͞҉a.̡͏̛͟͏̵̶J͏̷̧͠ư̶̛s͢͏̷ţ͠ ͡M̶̵̛o҉̛n̨̧͜i҉k̡͞a̵̢͠.̛͝͠

‘Hey, snap out of it!’

Hato clutched his forehead with his hands, wincing in pain. “I am Monika’s. Monika’s. Just Monika’s. Just Monika’s. Just Monik-”

‘I said snap out of it!’

Hato tumbled back, hitting his head on his bedroom wall. “Ouch! What was that for!?”

‘You really have a weak will, you know that? No wonder you get silenced so easily.’

“I still have no idea what you’re talking about.” Hato groaned, rubbing the back of his head. “If wanting to just get some rest for once makes me weak-willed, then so be it. Ugh…”

‘Hmph! You should be thanking me! I’m going to help you stay out of that hell you almost entered just now.’

“That hell…?” Hato paused, as if he was beginning to remember something.

Four rooms.

She snaps. She snaps. She snaps. She snaps.

Each one snaps, one after the other.

All that is left is a pile of clippings on the floor.

Is this hell? Seeing them snap, one by one?

And who is truly at fault? Her? Me? Or even something else?

Who can tell, truly.

In the end, it all disappears, just like that.

Snap.

“I know exactly what word describes what that club makes me feel.” Hato said, albeit in somewhat of an overdramatic fashion. “Deja vu.”

‘That’s two words.’

“Shut up.” He snapped back. “You know what I meant.”

‘I know, I know. Maybe you can be more useful than I thought, they won’t expect you to do anything… Let me b3BlbiB5b3VyIHRoaXJkIGV5ZS4uLg==’


End file.
